The Poco X5 5G: A Surprising Budget Smartphone with Impressive Features

When it comes to budget smartphones, the Poco X5 5G stands out from the competition. Priced at around $220, this phone may have made some compromises, but it offers qualities that you wouldn’t expect at this price point. One of its standout features is its exceptional display. While it may not be the best overall device on the market, if you’re on a tight budget and need a phone that gets the job done and more, the Poco X5 5G is definitely worth considering.

Design and Features

The Poco X5 is surprisingly subtle about its budget nature. It features a plastic frame and back cover that have a premium look and feel. The frame resembles aluminum frames found on more expensive phones, and the rear cover has a beautiful velvet-like effect. The phone proudly displays the “POCO” branding on the rear, which is typical for Poco phones. It even includes a rare feature in budget smartphones—a headphone jack on the top edge, as well as an IR emitter for using the phone as a remote control. The fingerprint scanner built into the power button on the right edge is convenient, and the SIM card tray supports dual SIM cards or one SIM and one microSD card, making expandable storage an added bonus.

Display

While the Poco X5 may have a slightly thicker bezel below the display, the side and top bezels are thin, giving it a modern look. The phone features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a sharp resolution of 1,080×2,400 and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The display offers excellent video playback with vibrant colors and deep blacks, thanks to OLED technology. It’s worth noting that not all apps recognize the phone as HDR capable, so HDR content may not be supported.

Software

The Poco X5 runs on Android 12, but it has already received an update to Android 13 and the latest Android Security Patch. It uses MIUI with the Poco Launcher, which offers a familiar Android experience. The notification shade and quick settings shade are compartmentalized, with pulling down on the left half of the screen revealing the notification shade and pulling down on the right half showing the quick settings. While it may take some getting used to, it offers the advantage of displaying more notifications or quick settings at once.

However, the phone does come with a fair amount of software bloat, including unnecessary pre-installed apps. Fortunately, many of these can be uninstalled to declutter the device.

Gaming and Performance

Although the Poco X5 doesn’t have the most powerful internals, it offers respectable performance for its price. Everyday use is snappy, with apps loading quickly and good multitasking capabilities. The Snapdragon 695G chipset performs well in gaming, although it may experience occasional stutters in graphically demanding games like Call of Duty Mobile. It performs better in games like Genshin Impact, where it’s smooth on the medium graphics preset. The phone may warm up during extended gaming sessions, but it doesn’t become uncomfortably hot.

While the Poco X5 may be outperformed by some other low-cost phones on the market, it still offers great value for its price. If you have a fast internet connection, you can even consider using cloud gaming to compensate for any performance limitations.

In conclusion, the Poco X5 5G may have a few trade-offs, but it delivers more than expected for its budget price. With its impressive display, solid performance, and added features, it’s definitely worth considering for those on a tight budget.